Enabled port forwarding in VPN, but qBittorrent can connect on any port
In PIA VPN, I have enabled "Request port forwarding". My understanding is that to use port forwarding, I need to connect to one of PIA's port forwarding enabled gateways, such as CA Montreal. When I do so, I can see the port number next to the IP address in the tooltip for the PIA task icon.
But I don't need to use this port number in qBittorrent for qbittorrent to connect and download. I can enter any random port number and it still connects. What am I doing wrong? Is it even recommended to request port forwarding from PIA for maximum privacy?
Also, in Windows Network Connections, with the VPN enabled, both the Local Area Connection (ethernet card) and Local Area Connection 2 (TAP-Windows adapter) are connected. Since I don't need to use PIA's port number in qBittorrent for qBittorrent to connect, does that mean the traffic is being routed through my ethernet card connection as opposed to the TAP adapter connection?
My setup passes the DNS leak test, IPv6 leak test, torrent leak test and UPnP exposure test.
My settings for my router, DNS, PIA VPN and qBittorrent are as follows. If there's anything else I should change for maximum privacy, please let me know.
Router:
- enable NAT: Yes
- enable UPnP: No
DNS settings
- set PIA DNS for both Local Area Connection (ethernet card) and Local Area Connection 2 (TAP-Windows Adapter V9)
- disabled IPv6 for both network adapters (by unchecking the box in both network adapters Properties)
PIA VPN
- Connection type: udp
- Remote port: Auto
- enabled "Request port forwarding"
- enabled VPN kill switch
- enabled IPV6 leak protection
- enabled DNS leak protection
qBittorrent
- Connection settings
- enabled protocol: TCP and uTP
- disabled 'Use UPnP / NAT-PMP port forwarding from my router'
- disabled "Use different port on each startup"
- BitTorrent settings
- disabled DHT
- enabled Peer Exchange
- disabled Local Peer Discovery
- enabled protocol: TCP and uTP
- disabled 'Use UPnP / NAT-PMP port forwarding from my router'
- disabled "Use different port on each startup"
- BitTorrent settings
- disabled DHT
- enabled Peer Exchange
- disabled Local Peer Discovery
- Advanced
- Network Interface: Local Area Connection 2 - this is the TAP-Windows adapter
- Network Interface: Local Area Connection 2 - this is the TAP-Windows adapter
Comments
i hope this works for you just like it did for me
In Options/Connection, fill in the port you forwarded in AirVPN
Uncheck "Use UPnP"
Unhceck "Use different port on each startup"
In Options/BitTorrent, Check Enable DHT"
Uncheck "Use a different port for DHT and BitTorrent"
Check Enable Peer Exchange (PeX)
Check Enable Local Peer Discovery (optional, based on seranecks post below)
Encryption Mode: Prefer encryption
Uncheck Enable anonymous mode
Uncheck Torrent Queueing (my preference - use the entire ISP pipe for concurrent torrenting)
In Options/Advanced, ensure the "Network Interface" is set to "tun0" so it will exclusively use the AirVPN Tunnel.
(if on Windows, find the Local Area Connection number that references your tunnel adapter. You can find this out by going to a command prompt, running ipconfig /all, and look for the adapter with the 10.x address).
Restart qBittorrent, and you should be good to go.